Friday, July 20, 2007

Women Speak out Against Violence

This event was to support a court appearance by four women arrested and charged with trying to create accessible and affordable housing as part of a WAPC event on Sunday June 3. The event was also part of the fight to provide housing by women for women now.

About fifty women, transfolk and their supporters took over the courtyard of the police building with improvisational theatre, amazing poetry and compelling stories from a range of participants. Women spoke on the many types of violence we and our sisters face in Toronto: from lack of housing, from abusive partners, from poverty and from police. Thank you to Tommee, Anna, Jen, Mike, Truth Is, Helen and all our amazing speakers and performers for sharing with us.

Today's brief court appearance was to get disclosure and set a future court date. The four charged will be back in provincial court again August 10.

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About Us

The Women Against Poverty Collective is a group of women and trans people who are working together to advocate for safe, affordable and accessible housing for women experiencing violence.Join our mailing list to stay up to date on WAPC events

Articles

A man who terrorized and savagely beat his spouses, sending one to her grave, has been declared a dangerous offender, meaning he has been jailed indefinitely.

"No treatment has served to control Mr. (Ian) Bell's behaviour," Superior Court Justice Peter Jarvis said yesterday, rejecting a defence plan to have him eventually released into tight supervision.

It is rare for Canada's most serious sanction to be imposed for someone not convicted of sex crimes.

Before he was sentenced Bell, 45, apologized for his serial spousal abuse. "I feel terrible," he said.

In 1993, he beat his wife, Cassandra Hawke, to death. A pathologist said she had the worst beating he had ever seen in his 27-year career.

In 2004, Bell was convicted of assault causing bodily harm to his latest wife, Kate Bell. It is for this crime that he was sentenced yesterday, but his history was examined to determine if he is too dangerous to ever be let free.

The Toronto man's first wife, Jacqueline Bell, testified that she was terrified of him during their nine-year marriage. He beat her up as many as 1,000 times, choking her to the point of blacking out, and breaking her arm when she was pregnant, she told Crown prosecutor David Mitchell at the hearing.

Helen Wilson, a former girlfriend, said she is "still afraid of Ian," and "of the anger he is capable of."

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Derek Pallandi said Bell's risk of re-offending is very high.

Take Action!

Francesca Nocera's court appearance for her obstruct police charge from the June 3rd action was postponed from Tuesday August 14th to August 15th at 10AM.

If you missed out this morning or if you want to join us in what will probably be a positive result for Francesca and the Collective as a whole then please come out same time, same place on Wednesday August 15th 10AM rm 505 (you need to take the elevator from the basement in College Park to the 2nd floor, then go through security and to rm 505 down the hall on the left side).

Hope to see you all there for what we hope will be a herstoric success in wimmins activism!

Women Against Poverty Collective Meeting

When: Thursday August 23rd 5:30pmWhere: Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (APUS) 100 Devonshire - Just South of Bloor and one block East of St. George.

Come out to take part in planning future events/actions to win safe affordable housing for women, transfolks and our kids and to participate in our community art project! TTC available. Kids welcome, we can take turns providing childcare.